


A Wealth Of Knowledge

by RumbelleFrench (DoctorCucumber)



Series: An Improper Education [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Libraries, Reading, Storybrooke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-15 22:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9260831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorCucumber/pseuds/RumbelleFrench
Summary: After scouring the entire library, Belle finds the encyclopedia collection.





	

It frustrated Belle how little she knew about this land. Ever since she had left the hospital, everything just seemed so new. There were cars and Nutella and laptops and airplanes and alarm clocks and pancakes and something called a phone Rumple had given her. She had been getting better at that one; she knew to touch the green circle when his face flashed on the screen. And he would talk to her through it, even if he was far away! She liked to think she was a pretty quick learner, but so many things in this land seemed like magic, it was a little tricky to understand how everything worker _without_ magic.

So, Belle did what she did best. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be many books on how a refrigerator somehow stayed cold or how her new mug kept her tea hot for hours. Or so she thought, until she stumbled across an entire row of thick books at the library. Each one had a different letter on the top of its spine, and pressed together, the spines formed a map of this land.

Not many people visited the library, much to her dismay. So she didn't mind spreading out her new finds all over the floor in front of her. Each book was massive, and seemed to contain pretty much everything she could want to know. She cracked open the book labeled with an R and dove in.

-

Belle wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the floor of the library, but the sun had set, forcing her to press her face right up to the pages so she could see. When she heard the front door of the library open and shut, she was too focused to go see who it was. She heard footsteps approach, and smiled, recognizing the third tap on the ground as a familiar cane.

Rumple poked his head around the stacks, sighing when he spotted her. "Sweetheart, I've been worried. It's late, why don't we head home?"

Belle looked up to see the concern on his face. She popped up and gave him a quick hug and peck on the cheek. "I'm so sorry Rumple, I guess I just lost track of time. There are so many new things in this land, I'm just trying to figure everything out."

"And what did you learn today," he said, smiling softly.

"Did you know there have been _two_ wars that this entire land participated in? And they were against other people, not ogres or goblins, or you," she said, looking up with a faint grin.

"Ah yes, Hitler is rather despicable, even compared to a Dark One," Rumple said.

"And there is this material called denim I'm interested in," she continued, picking up some of the heavy volumes and placing them neatly on the shelf. "And something called an appendix, and something else that can apparently make metal float, without magic!"

"You'll have to tell me more over dinner, sweetheart," Rumplestiltskin said, kissing the top of her head and grabbing some of the books she was holding. He placed a gentle hand on the small of her back to lead her toward the door.

She beamed up at him. "Sounds wonderful, I am rather hungry. And I have to tell you about all the islands here. There's one called Hawaii that is actually a bunch together called an archipelago, and beyond that is one called Japan. And apparently, they speak an entirely new language there, isn't that amazing! And under Japan is another island named Australia..."


End file.
